Movie Review: Angelina Jolie writes horrors of war in 'Blood'

“In the Land of Blood and Honey” is a riveting, well-told, keenly acted, often tough-to-watch story of love and hate, friendship and betrayal, tenderness and brutality, patriotism and political upheaval, all played out with the 1990s Bosnian War as a backdrop.

For her first time behind the camera as director, and with pen in hand as screenwriter, Angelina Jolie proves that she’s paid attention throughout her acting career, not only to what’s happening on the set, but also to what makes for a provocative script.

“In the Land of Blood and Honey” is a riveting, well-told, keenly acted, often tough-to-watch story of love and hate, friendship and betrayal, tenderness and brutality, patriotism and political upheaval, all played out with the 1990s Bosnian War as a backdrop.

Though the intricacies of the awful circumstances aren’t really explained, there’s eventually enough personal back story to let viewers know what’s going on, even if the sum of their knowledge about the conflict comes from quick clips on CNN or from seeing the excellent films “Welcome to Sarajevo” or “No Man’s Land.”

But Jolie isn’t giving a history lesson here. She’s telling us and making us see and hear that war is hell and that, at least in her vision of this one, there are no black and white good guys and bad guys. The fighting is between Serbian soldiers and Muslim rebels, though the war was between Serbian soldiers and all Muslims living in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The first half of the film concentrates on the atrocities committed by the Serbs on the Muslim population -- evicting them from apartments, casually shooting them in the streets, rounding up Muslim women and forcing them into captivity for cooking, cleaning and sex. Warning: There are a couple of horrific rape scenes and a great deal of violence. The second half takes a look at how some of the rebels are fighting back, even though they’re vastly outnumbered.

Jolie takes time to fashion a completely different sensibility within the emotional and physical chaos. At its center, there’s a Romeo and Juliet-like love story between Danijel (Goran Kostic) and Ajla (Zana Marjanovic). He’s a Serbian army captain who, goaded on by his warmongering father (Rade Serbedzija), wants to be a great soldier, but is confused by his pacifist leanings. She’s a Muslim artist.

They met, and were briefly happy before the war, but now their forbidden love must be conducted in secret.

There’s the camaraderie among Serb soldiers who, when they’re not slaughtering their supposed enemies, are seen talking about hopes for a quick end to the war and a better future for their children. There’s also end-of-the-war talk over in the rebel camp, along with their dreams of again one day enjoying steak, Coca-Cola, shopping, and dancing.

Even that central love affair is filled with talk, as Danijel and Ajla find time to have philosophical discussions about whether what’s going on around them has more to do with politics or just plain murder.

After a huge explosion, the screen goes black, then the film sort of wafts back into sight, as if everyone watching it is waking from a dream. We see a grieving woman, her dead baby in her arms, from the vantage point of a camera way above her. She’s alone, just an insignificant speck amongst the tragedy.

This is a compelling and terribly depressing film that focuses on the futility of war and the damage it can do to ordinary people. Jolie has conjured up some images that you’ll want to forget but won’t be able to. The only real problem is that even though separate scenes flow well and go by quickly, the film tends to drag, and it feels like it runs quite a bit longer than its two hours. It’s exhausting.

Rated R. “In the Land of Blood and Honey” contains war violence, rape, sexuality, nudity, and adult language.